I have read once that almost all the hoards of the Athenian tetradrachm have mostly been found in mainly Egypt because of egyptian wheat. Is that true? Have most of the hoards of Athenian tetradrachm been found on Egyptian soil rather than in Attica? And did Athenian tetradrachm circulate in Athens the city? Did they also circulate in the Delian League?
Herberto, you can read an interesting article here: https://www.gretaparker.com/pages/athenian-owl.html Enjoy
It’s safe to say we will never know for certain, because the vast majority of finds are never reported for fear of confiscation by the authorities. Which leaves us with finds made by archaeologists, and those are entirely dependent on where archaeologists congregate for other reasons. I wonder if it is possible to infer something by the proportion of bankers mark and/or test cut specimens, under the assumption that those marks were more prevalent in areas where the coins were treated as bullion rather than as legal tender?
